ADB Provides $350 Million Loan to Strengthen Kazakhstan’s Financial Sector
ADB Approves $350 Million Policy-Based Loan to Strengthen Kazakhstan’s Fiscal Governance
ASTANA — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $350 million policy-based loan to enhance Kazakhstan’s fiscal governance and financial sector resilience. This loan represents the first policy-based loan for Kazakhstan and aims to support the country’s economic trajectory in the face of global uncertainties, as reported by the ADB’s press service.
The Fiscal Governance and Financial Sector Reforms Program by ADB will play a crucial role in supporting fiscal reforms that improve governance and accountability in public investment processes while ensuring debt sustainability. Additionally, the program will work to strengthen the financial governance framework of the National Fund of Kazakhstan to promote transparency and fiduciary control.
Yevgeniy Zhukov, ADB Director General for Central and West Asia, emphasized the importance of Kazakhstan’s ongoing reforms in fortifying fiscal management, transparency, sustainability, and governance.
According to ADB Principal Financial Sector Economist Joao Pedro Farinha, the program will help create an enabling environment critical to developing the government securities market and introducing climate policy accounting and assessment. It will also support women, particularly through gender-responsive budgeting, and institutionalize public support for women’s entrepreneurship development.
The program also supports policies that foster sustainable financial intermediation, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. These reforms will help enhance the effectiveness of banking supervision and promote financing towards environmentally responsive investments.
In addition to the $350 million policy-based loan, ADB will provide a $650,000 technical assistance grant to support the implementation of the program’s key reform actions. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is also expected to contribute a parallel co-financing of $350 million for subprogram 1.
Since Kazakhstan joined ADB in 1994, the bank has approved over $6.8 billion in government and private sector loans and grants to finance technical assistance. ADB’s commitment to Kazakhstan includes efforts to develop and upgrade regional connectivity, support private sector enterprises, foster gender and social equality, and deliver knowledge products and services.
The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is integral to these initiatives, aligning with ADB’s broader commitment to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific. Established in 1966, ADB is owned by 68 members, 49 of which are from the region.
